Sports
S. Thomas’, St. Benedict’s to fight for Ranjit Fernando-Kumar Boralessa trophy
by Reemus Fernando
The traditional Under 19 cricket encounter between S. Thomas’ College and St. Benedict’s College will be played for the Ranjit Fernando- Kumar Boralessa trophy for the first time. The Ranjit Fernando- Kumar Boralessa trophy had been mooted by S. Thomas’ College warden Rev. Marc Billimoria to honour the distinguished wicketkeeper batsmen produced by the two schools and to inspire the present cricketers of the two schools.
Incidentally, when the two schools meet today and tomorrow the match has special significance as it will also be a crucial tournament match in the ongoing Division I Tier ‘A’ tournament.
The Thomians captained by Kavindu Dias will have a slight edge over St. Benedict’s. It is the penultimate match in the tournament for the Thomians. Currently they are ranked fourth in the points table behind Mahanama, St. Joseph’s and St. Anthony’s Katugastota. While other teams have three or more matches remaining in the tournament, the Thomians have only one match after the Bens encounter. They need to remain in the same position or improve the rankings if they are to secure a place in the knockout stage.
After having suffered two outright defeats St. Benedict’s are struggling in the eight position in the nine-team group. The team heavily depend on Sri Lanka Under 19 batsman Sharujan Shanmuganathan in the batting department. He was the only batsman to show resistance against St. Anthony’s at the last encounter. They suffered a heavy innings defeat despite a century and a half century by Shanmuganathan in the year end encounter.
According to S. Thomas’ officials, the two schools have played against each other since 1912-1913 season.
According to statistics provided by S. Thomas’ the Bens have not recorded a victory in this series after Sunil Fernando led team won the match in 1964. The Thomians last won under Mahith Perera in 2022.
Sri Lanka Cricket have appointed Ramakrishnan Sridhar as the national team’s fielding coach, with his tenure set to run until the completion of the ICC men’s T20 World Cup in March next year.
A BCCI Level 3 qualified coach, Sridhar previously served as India’s men’s team fielding coach from 2014 to 2021. More recently, he served as a consultant coach with the Afghanistan team. He will now turn his attention to improving Sri Lanka’s fielding standards, working closely with the squad on the upcoming tours of Pakistan and England before overseeing preparations for the T20 World Cup.
“Sri Lankan players have always stood for instinctive brilliance, resilience, and collective spirit,” Sridhar was quoted as saying by an SLC release. “My role is not to impose a system, but to nurture an environment where athleticism, awareness, and pride in the field can grow naturally.”
Sridhar is already familiar with the Sri Lankan setup, having conducted a 10-day specialised fielding programme at the National High Performance Centre earlier this year. “Fielding thrives when players feel connected to the ball, to each other, and to the moment,” he added.
“Sri Lanka’s traditional strengths – quick hands, sharp reflexes, and fearless intent, can be further enhanced by creating realistic, game-like learning environments.” [Cricbuzz]
Venura Kaveethra excelled with a good double as Mahanama ended day one in a strong position in the Under 19 Division I cricket tournament match against Lumbini at Mattegoda on Wednesday.
Kaveethra shared seven wickets with paceman Geeth Sandaruwan to rattle Lumbini for a mere 63 runs and later put on a partnership of 118 runs for the fourth wicket with Sithum Vihanga.
Vihanga top scored with 82 runs while Kaushika Thilakarathne made 60.
Mahanama dominate at Mattegoda
Scores
Lumbini 63 all out in 25.2 overs (Venura Kaveethra 4/17, Geeth Sandaruwan 3/31, Thaviru Perera 2/07)
Mahanama
228 for 4 in 41 overs (Sithum Vihanga 82, Kaushika Thilakarathne 60, Venura Kaveethra 39n.o., Sanul Weerarathne 24; Mihisara Weerasinghe 2/53)
DSS post 234 for seven wickets at DSS ground against Richmond
Scores
DSS 234 for 7 in 72 overs (Mayuru Bandara 22, Janindu Ranasinghe 23, Shevan Menusha 68, Randisha Bandaranayake 41, Haamid Afdhal 27n.o., Chithum Baddage 25n.o. ; Minage Ariyadasa 2/63, Tenush Nimsara 2/65)
St. Sebastian’s 93 for 3 against Trinity at Asgiriya
Scores
St. Sebastians’ 93 for 3 in 41.5 overs (Kaveesha Perera 48n.o.)
by Reemus Fernando
Former fast bowler Pramodya Wickremasinghe will head Sri Lanka’s new national selection committee, which picks both men’s and women’s senior squads. Also in the committee are former cricketers Vinothan John, Indika de Saram, Rasanjali de Alwis and Tharanga Paranavithana.
While the committee headed by Upul Tharanga is now defunct, there is some continuity for this fresh committee, with Paranavitana and de Saram also having served under Tharanga. Wickramasinghe has been chief selector before – between 2021 and 2023 – with Sri Lanka men’s poor performance in the 2023 World Cup prompting his removal. He was also part of a selection committee headed by Sanath Jayasuriya – now head coach – between 2013 and 2015.
The change in selectors was announced by Sri Lanka’s sports ministry. SLC chief executive Ashley de Silva said the board had been involved in the process. Sri Lanka’s Sports Law dictates that such appointments go through the sports ministry.
“Sri Lanka Cricket sends a list of about ten names to the ministry, and they have chosen from that,” de Silva told ESPNcricinfo. “There is no term as such. The appointment is until further notice.”
De Silva also said that the Tharanga-led committee had simply come to the end of its term. Internally, there had been no push towards extending their term until the end of the men’s T20 World Cup in February and March. In fact, it had been a little over three weeks ago that Tharanga suggested captain Charith Asalanka may be replaced in the coming weeks. That decision now passes to the new committee, whose first major assignment will be to select the World Cup squad.
All five members of this new committee have represented Sri Lanka at the highest level. Both Paranavitana and de Saram played domestic cricket into this decade. John is the oldest selector among them, having played his last match for Sri Lanka in 1987.
[Cricinfo]
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